Front Cover: “A polymer microsphere, crosslinked and functionalized by amine, can be used as a solid-state template for the synthesis of gold (Au) crystals in the form of either nanoparticles (NPs) or plates. The polymer microsphere acts as an internal template to cultivate Au NPs inside the microsphere or an external template to generate the singlecrystal plates depending on the critical concentration of gold ions.”

Front Cover: “This article introduces and considers the fundamental understanding of ionic polymer–metal composites (IPMCs) functioning as electroactive actuators and sensors. … So far, IPMCs have been adapted as robotic actuators, artificial muscles, and electrical sensors. In the future, it is expected that IPMCs will broadly spread their roles from small-sized biomedical devices to large-scale actuators for aerospace as well as many industrial applications.”